Jane Seymour hosts Wixom-produced series on boomer health concerns

Actress Jane Seymour, wearing one of her Open Hearts Collection pendants, sits on the set of “Feel Grand with Jane Seymour,” being produced at DPTV studios in Wixom. The series, which focuses on the health concerns of baby boomers, will be available in October on PBS stations.
Photo by Nicole M. Robertson — The Oakland Press

Dr. Gail Parker, a psychologist and yoga-education teacher, runs the Center for Conscious Living in Bingham Farms. Photo courtesy of Gail Parker

Twice doctors told Marion Jones her chest pain was not a heart attack. And yet, at age 47, she returned to the emergency department with pain and vomiting.

“I had a heart attack, and it was determined that the cause was stress,” the now-57-year-old Birmingham resident said. “I had great health. I’ve never been a smoker, not a heavy drinker, I’ve been physically active my whole life, no bad cholesterol ... there was no reason to expect a heart attack.”

Her story is part of “Feel Grand with Jane Seymour,” a 13-part series being produced this week at DPTV studios in Wixom. Focused on health concerns of baby boomers, it’s expected to air on PBS stations in October.

“I was basically trying to do it all in my life,” Jones told The Oakland Press. “I was a typical woman that has a family, trying to do too much. I was feeling the pressure of all the things I had to do, and it sent me over the edge.”

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Doctors determined the heart attack was not caused by physical issues.

“The cardiologist came to me and said, ‘I see you have a very small 40 percent blockage ... and where it’s located and the fact it’s only 40 percent, that did not cause your heart attack.’”

She started on blood pressure medication and daily aspirin, had a diet consultation and “even though I don’t have high cholesterol, they treated me like I guess they treat all heart patients, to ensure that they survive and don’t have another one.”

She realized she had to “prioritize my own health as opposed to making myself last on my list.” She scheduled exercise and stays on her medicine because of a family history of hypertension.

“I was very fortunate,” she said. “God was trying to tell me, ‘Marion, you gotta slow down, you need to change.’ If I can help by sharing my story so that other women know ... we have to put ourselves first. And we have to make sure we pay attention to our health ... because we’re the ones looking out for everybody, and that should include ourselves.”

“Be your own advocate. Listen to your body,” Seymour said in a media event this week. The Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning star of “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “Wedding Crashers” and “Somewhere in Time,” filmed on Mackinac Island, encourages people to “research your problem and discover what you can do about it.”

DPTV is producing the program in partnership with Grandparents.com, which promotes wellbeing for seniors and boasts more than 2 million users 50 and older. Seymour talks with Deepak Chopra, chairman of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Susan Blumenthal and Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, author of “Every Woman’s Guide to a Happy, Healthy Life.” Thirteen local people will be profiled on the series, including residents of Southfield, Royal Oak, Bloomfield Hills, Milford, Brighton and Farmington.

Dr. Gail Parker, a psychologist who runs the Center for Conscious Living in Bingham Farms, teaches Wayne State University med students to use yoga as therapy. She’s part of the “Ancient Remedies” episode.

“One of the things we talked about was the benefits of psychotherapy, meditation and yoga — they combine to have a very powerful effect in healing people,” she said. These practices restore the immune system, lower blood pressure and suppress “fight or flight” hormone cortisol, which makes us anxious and helps make us fat.

Parker noted that 65 percent to 90 percent of people doctors see have ailments caused by stress.

“Not that they don’t have symptoms — they do, but these are stress-related,” Parker said in a phone interview. “When you are under stress, your body eventually is going to break down. You cannot sustain that way of living.

“One of the things we know is that yoga helps you maintain your balance. So I guess what all of this is about is maintaining balance — physical balance, emotional balance, mental balance and spiritual balance.”

The series, being taped with a live audience through Friday, will examine brain and heart health, emotional effects of aging, nutrition and alternative and traditional remedies. Forty-five percent of the U.S. population will be 50 or older next year, and by 2030, the number of those older than 65 will double to about 71.5 million, according to DPTV.